Clownfish Fry Raising Journal Update 05/24/12

Here is a video of a couple of them swimming around. They're around 12 to 14 hours old in the video. They have plenty of rots to eat so hopefully they'll continue doing good. Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh1COyKOh2o

 

Congrats on the hatch.;DI recommend blacking out all 4 sides of the fry tank for at least a week. The fry have a hard time siting prey(the rots) till their eyes develope more.Also make sure that you keep your air bubbling high because with so few fry a large amount of rots will zap all the O2 out of the water.You might have to take some rots out if you notice their population getting out of control.What do folks plan on feeding after the fry are a few days old?I highly recommend Otohime.This stuff is awesome.Keep up the good work and keep us posted.You know the rules-"pics or it didn't happen".
Congrats again,Daniel

 

Sadly, it looks like none of our fry survived the night. I'm going to test the water to see if there was an ammonia spike or something. If not, it may have been an oxygen issue as suggested by Daniel because there was plenty of food (I know they didn't starve to death). Is it ever normal for the fry to lay on the bottom for a minute or so and then start swimming again? Or are they normally constantly suspended in the water column? How much bubbling is too much?

 

Bummer Joey, hope the next one goes better!

 

IME they should stay in the water column almost all the time.If they lay on the bottom for any length of time it usually spells trouble.Were they swimming head down?If so there was to much light.As far as the bubbles go I have a Top Fin air pump made for a 10 gallon and only have about 4-5 gallons in it for the first few weeks and I run mine wide open.If it looks like the fry are being beaten to death, then valve it down some.Also take a look at the top of the water on your fry tank to see if it has some oil/film on it. If it does than they could have suffocated.Don't let this get you down.With failure also comes success.Identify the problem and you'll probably never make it again.It is all a learning process.If everyone could do it ORA would have to close it's doors.
Daniel

 

Thanks for the advice and your encouraging words, Daniel. We appreciate it! Just before reading this last night, I got to the part in Joyce's book where she says a lot of the same stuff you suggested. So, changes will be made in time for the next hatch. First off, going to ditch the 2.5 gallon for a 10 gallon tank. Water quality is hard to maintain in such a small tank and since rotifer densities won't be a problem, there really is no reason not to go for a 10 gallon tank.

Daniel - do you use air stones in your fry tank? What is your feeding routine for your mating pair (what foods and how often)? How much did you get your otohime for?

 

I don't use air stones per the advice of other breeders.I just use a piece of ridgid air line tubing.I rest it on the bottom just under the heater so it blows bubbles on it and the fry stay away from it.
I just feed my pair PE Mysis and some times they eat some sushi nori.I just feed them once a day at night and that is it.They were in my reef and spawning on a reg basis so I tried not to change anything-minus moving 1 coral-bad move they stopped for almost 2 months.I just bought the oto starter kit from Reed Mariculture and it comes with a ton of stuff.I think it was about $75.00 shipped but I'm in FL so it might not be as much for you guys.Just take a look on their site.Keep the posts coming.

 

Which method do you use - transferring eggs or catching hatched fry?

 

I catch the fry in a small bowl a few at a time and then transfer them to a 10 gallon tank.Once I have all of the fry I add water from the parent tank till I have about 4-5 gallons in there.Then I harvest some rots, make sure my heater is set to 84 and watch the fry for about 30 min. to make sure I have the light set just right.If they are swimming head down at the bottom I decrease the light.If they are swimming all at the top I give them more light.I have never tinted my water in my fry tanks.I just check them in the morning and night to make sure there is enough rots.On day 2 I started adding a small amount of Otohime A this time.On day 4-5 I add more Oto feedings from 1 to 2 a day.I noticed this time the fry are growing much faster.Today is day 12 and I'm feeding Oto A 4-5 times a day.I will not add rots to the tank anymore from here on out.Almost all my fry are swimming like clowns as opposed to swimming like tad poles.META WILL HAPPEN SOON!:biggrinbo
Daniel

 

Today we managed to get our ocellaris pair spawning on video! Audra noticed that the female's tube was out really far and she was very fat. I know they like to spawn in the late afternoon, so i went in to check on them around 5pm today and sure enough, they were going at it!

Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l44Jojp-mHQ